Tried swapping "growth hacking" nonsense for just answering questions in forums

I was stuck for 6 months chasing all these flashy growth tactics for my little side project. Posting 5 times a day on TikTok, doing crazy engagement bait polls, the works. Got me like 50 followers and zero real traction. Last month I just started answering specific questions people had about my niche on Reddit and a couple small forums. No sales pitch, just solid help. My traffic went up by 400% in 3 weeks. Turns out the buzzword everyone was pushing was just noise. Has anyone else found that ignoring the popular advice actually worked better?

3 comments

3 Comments

jamesfox19d ago

Wait, how long were you posting on TikTok before you switched it up? That's wild because I had almost the same thing happen with my garage side gig. I was trying to make these viral reels about fixing cars but nobody cared. Then I just started hopping into old forum threads where guys were stuck on weird engine codes or electrical gremlins. No link, no plug, just walking them through what to check. Honestly that got me more word of mouth than any of those "growth hacks" ever did. Tbh I think people online can smell desperation from a mile away, and just being useful beats trying to be viral every time.

bettywood17d ago

I stopped posting on Facebook completely after 3 months of zero results for my hobby blog. Instead I found a tiny forum where beginners asked the same questions over and over and just answered them plainly each time. Like @allen.charlie said, all that flashy noise just burned me out while helping people directly is what actually got the ball rolling.

allen.charlie19d ago

Your 6 months of noise sounds exactly like my garage hobby grind. Solidarity brother.